Electrically operated automatic fuel control device for internal combustion engines



y 1934- w. R. PULKINGHORN 1,968,653

ELECTRIGALLY OPERATED AUTOMATIC FUEL CONTROL DEVICE FOR INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES Filed Oct. 14, 1931 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 July 31, 1934. w. R. PULKINGHORN 1,968,653

ELECTRICALLY OPERATED AUTOMATIC FUEL CONTROL DEVICE FOR INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES Filed 001. 14, 1.931 ZShEBtS-SIIBBt 2 7 45' ,QOQ 000000 2 o H 2 v.| I115 75 2 "45 Patented July 31, 1934 2 Claims. r01. 123-127) to eratedi fuel control-apparatusadapted to be connected to the intakemanifold oriincorporated with the carburetor-of; an internal combustion :;;i;engine whereby the idling fuelqwillbe: auto-.

matically supplied and cut on at predetermined speeds-oithe engine; and vehicle.

a It is wellunderstood that in order that a 101 nerthe'vapori'zed fuel fronithe carburetor-should be :"supplied to :the' engine only when it? is -fur-r nishing' power tolpropel the vehicle, andgduring" all-accelerator pedall4.

the 'so-.calledi'dlingspeednntt; I a v However, this condition does not i exist when the accelerator throttle valvedsclosed while the engine is rotating faster' than the so-calledidllng speeddu'e to the idling mixture; then entering the engine cylinders.- During this interval the-idling mixture-does not ignite on account of 'insufii-v 20.cient compression or from lack "of'timeior proper combustionm The unburnt fuel thusaaccumulating in the cylinders "and manifold results in so called loading upi 'which when expelled into the atmosphere is not "only; very :ob'noxio'us to occur 25, pants of the vehicle" and-others within its range; but results in a loss of fuel. The unburntfuel also'works pastxthepistons into. the crankcase causing increased engine wear due to dilutionl of thelubricatingioil therein: 3, "One object of this" invention is to provide-an apparatus" which will supply =fuel to "an internalcombustion' engineduring idling speed,"a nd automatically 'cu't off such fuel upon closinguoi: the accelerator throttle valve, while; the 1 engine is 535 rotating fasterthan the-so-called idling r Another object of the present vinvention is to provide an apparatus in which the idling fuel is automatically cutlofl by an electrically operated valve upo'n closing ofw'the accelerator throttle 40 valve when the engine is rotatingiaster than idlingspeed between :g'earshifts, or duringroadcoasting-periods'with the' gearsflin mesh l *sOther obj ects and advantages will be apparent from the following-description reference being 1; had to the: accompanying; drawings in which:- Figxli is a SldQQlGVfiliiOIl' of, an internal com bustion engine showing the. automatic fuel; con tr'ol apparatusinstalled thereon. Fig; 2 isa; SGCtlOIIQITr-ViBW takenthrqughthe 50 idling fuelzsupplydevice, .and;cut off valvea r: "Fig.3 is asection taken through-the governor orocircuitr-breaker employed to}, control move-e ment of the idling fuel cutoffrvalvei -V t V Fig.4 is 1 a" section taken on. line: 4 4, of -Fig; 3. @Fig; 51s a sectiomtaken: through an electric motor vehicle may operateiin themost; eflicient manswitch operatedbythe accelerator pedal for Opening and closing the circuit to the valve operating, device. 1 a v Fig. 6 is anelectrical diagram of the idling fuel control apparatus. V

Fig. 7 .is aside elevation showing a modified mounting for. the governorwhereby the same may bedriven from the fan belt.

-Referring more specifically to the drawings, 10 designates -a qconventional internal combus ion engine, an intake manifold 11, and acarburetor 12 provided with a throttle valve 13 operated by lteferringmore specifically to Fig 2, 16 gen} erally designates theidling fuel supply. d vice ofthezapparatus whichrconsists of a body member 18 preferably formed of cast metal provided with a threaded nipple- 19 for connection with the intake manifold preferably by a union 20 and pipe-21. v

Fuel-issupplied .to the device through a pipe line 22 communicating with the usual pump or vacuum; tank (not shown) connected-by a union toaan inlet fitting 23 havinga port 25 normally closcdby afloat valve 26. g Y

The valve 26 is connected by a rocker arm 28 to afloat 30 disposed; in a chamber 31 formed in the body'member 18, fluid F in the float chamber passes through a, vport .32 into a reservoir 34, the

fluid seekinga level in thefloat chamber and reservoir. I v j a V g Mounted in the reservoir is a fuel regulator or bleeder consisting of a tubular member 40 extending into the reservoir and terminating at a point above the fluid level therein, and screw threaded into the upper endthereof is a needle valve 43 adapted to regulate the passage of air entering said member. 1 .E'low of fluid induced by the bleeder passes upwardly in the. reservoir thence through a port 45 which communicates with a vaporizer or mixing tube 46 mounted in a recess 49 formed in the bodymember and screw threaded in the upper end of said mixing tube is a nozzleor 'jet 55.

F'luidlpas sing through port.45 enters the vaporizer throughja plurality of ports 56 formed therein wherein'it'is vaporized, and passes into thereon-res thence through a passage b'l' i'nto an annularrecessfidl a, o j .Theabovedescribed parts tunction in the same manner as a usual carburetor and serve tofurnish theidling mixture, hence the accelerator throttle valve should be so adjusted that it will entirelyfclose, and any idling apertures therein plugged or otherwise closed so that no mixture will pass it when closed.

vaporized fuel passes from the recess 58 into the intake manifold, and is controlled by a valve 59 operated by a solenoid 60 disposed in a chamber formed in the body member.

Valve 59 is secured to or formed integral with the armature 62 of the solenoid, and is normally held unseated by an expansion coil spring 63 encircling the same, the spring being disposed between a collar 64 and the upper face of said solenoid.

Solenoid 60 is held in place by a plate 65 which also covers chamber 31, the cover having an opening 66 formed therein communicating with the float chamber in order' to permit atmospheric pressure to react on the fiuid therein during suction created by the engine.

Mixing tube 40, vaporizer 46, and the projecting portion of the armature are covered by a housing 68which serves as an air cleaner and silencer to noise created by air passing through said mixing tube and vaporizer. To this 'end, the housing is provided with inner and outer perforated side walls '70 and '71 respectively between which is disposed a layer of metallic shavings or the like material '72, while the top or upper wall is internally lined with a layer '73 of sound absorbing material such as felt, cork, or the like.

The opposite ends of the winding or field of the solenoid are connected to conductors '74 and 75 leading therefrom to a switch '76, and a governor or circuit breaker '77 respectively. An incan descent lamp designated at L is interposed in conductor '74 to indicate to the operator of the vehicle whether the apparatus is functioning properly.

Referring to Figs. 3 and 4, the governor 7'7 consists of a cylindrical housing '78 in which is tiltably mounted a disk '79 provided with a pair of pins having tapered points engaging recesses 81 formed in a closure plate 82.

Closure plate 82 is formed of insulating material, and is provided with an internal contact 83, and an external contact 84 connected by a conductor 85 embedded in said plate.

Disk '79 is normally held out of engagement with the internal contact 83 by a bow spring 86, the tension of which may be adjusted by a set screw 8'7. The governor serves to make and break the circuit through the solenoid, i. e., through engagement of the disk with the internal contact in a manner hereinafter described, and is adapted to be connected to a rotatable member of the engine, preferably to the shaft of the usual generator designated at G as shown in Fig. 1; the housing being provided with a socket 88 and set screw 89 for this purpose.

'Referring to Fig. '7, the governor may be operated by the fan belt of the engine. In this instance, it is connected to a shaft 90 mounted in a bearing carried by a suitable support 91 adapted to bemounted on the cylinder block of the engine.

Conductor '75 is connected by a binding postto a spring contact 92, preferably mounted on the generator housing and engaging the external contact 84 of the governor, v f V Switch '76" consists of a rigid contact 93, and a spring contact 94 carried by a casing 95 secured to the dashboard or other suitable supporting member. The contacts are mounted onblocks of insulating material 96,and are provided with binding posts or the like 97, one of which is connected to a conductor '74, while'the other is connected to a conductor 98 leading to the storage battery B of the vehicle.

Secured to a rock shaft 99 is a cam 100 formed of insulating material, or is insulated from the shaft. The cam serves to close the contacts of the switch, and is actuated by the accelerator pedal through a series of links and levers arranged as follows:

Secured to shaft 99 is a lever 102 connected by a link 103 to one arm of a quadrant 104 pivotally mounted on a bracket 105 connected by a link 106 to the accelerator pedal. A link 107 is connected to the other arm of the quadrant, and an arm 108 secured to the shaft of throttle valve 13.

Assuming the vehicle is travelling at usual road speed, i. e., at or above 20 miles per hour, the contacts of the switch '76 will be opened due to depression of the accelerator pedal, while the con- 'tacts of thegovernor will be closed due to the disk '79 engaging the internal contact 83 by centrifugal force, and at the same time valve 59 will be unseated due to the circuit to the solenoid being broken by the switch.

However, should the throttle valve be closed while the vehicle is travelling at the speed above 100 referred to, valve 59 will be seated and cut off the idling mixture due to closing of the circuit to the solenoid, and will remain seated as long as the vehicle travels at this speed, but will be unseated when the vehicle slows down to idling 5 speed whereupon the flow of idling fuel will again be supplied. It will be noted that by adjusting the tension of the governor spring 86 by screw 87, the flow of idling fuel may be cutoff at various speeds of the engine. 119

From the foregoing, it will be seen that the apparatus provides means whereby the idling fuel is supplied only when required thereby preventing unburnt gaseous fuel collecting in the cylinders and manifolds.

It will also be noted that should the circuit become permanently broken due to breakage of one of the conductors, etc., no stalling of the vehicle will result from lack of idling fuel as the valve 59 will then remain constantly opened.

I claim:

1. The combination with an internal combustion engine having an intake manifold, a carburetor provided with an accelerator throttle valve, and an accelerator pedal connected there- 5 with, of a device for supplying idling fuel comprising a body member having a fluid conduit communicating with the intake manifold, a solenoid mounted in the body member, a valve connected to the armature of said solenoid, a spring normally holding said valve unseated, an electric switch, a cam interconnected with the accelerator pedal arranged to close the contacts of said switch when said accelerator pedal is in raised position, a governor rotatable in unison with the engine crank shaft, a conductor leading from a source of current to said switch, and conductors leading from the solenoid to said switch and to said governor respectively, said governor completing the circuit through said solenoid when the engine is rotating faster than idling speed, whereby upon closing of the accelerator throttle valve when the engine is rotating faster than idling speed, said valve will be seated and cut off the flow of idling fuel through the device until the engine slows 14,: down to idling speed, whereupon the circuit to said solenoid will be broken by said governor and the flow of idling fuel restored.

2. The combination with an internal combustion engine having an intake manifold, a car- 1,59

pedal is in raised position, and a governor provided with a tiltably mounted disk rotatable with the engine crank shaft, said governor completing the circuit through said solenoid upon closing of the throttle valve when the engine is rotating faster than idling speed, whereupon said valve will be seated and cut oif the flow of idling fuel through the device until the engine returns to idling speed.

WILLIAM ROSS PULKINGHORN. 

